The complexity of enforcing intellectual property rights in the absence of antitrust legislation and a related enforcement institution : a classic policy failure in Ghana

Abstract

Owing to the fact that TRIPS provides for a stringent enforcement of IPRs, this article examines the consequences of enforcing IPRs in the absence of an antitrust legislation and a related enforcement institution in Ghana. The article takes the view that such an absence undermines economic rights of Ghanaian consumers because unruly corporations are able to undertake predatory anti-competitive behaviour unnoticed. Although the author acknowledges the philosophical complexity in validating consumer protection as a complete human right subject matter, for the purpose of this article, a human right claim is made for consumer protection. This claim is founded on evidence that several multinational corporations operating in Ghana infringes antitrust laws in Europe. Given the understanding that antitrust legislations and its enforcement institutions offer a critical vehicle for protecting human rights, this article seeks a complete evaluation of a legal remedy, and the outcome is a logical conclusion for a legislative intervention to establish an enforcement institution to monitor antitrust undertakings in Ghana in order to protect consumers against the exploitation of IPRs by private corporations